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Comparison Of Photosynthetic Ability In Single And Double Palisade Parenchyma Leaves In Southern California, Vincent Quach, Ryan Sauer, Haley Smith, Christian Wright Jan 2014

Comparison Of Photosynthetic Ability In Single And Double Palisade Parenchyma Leaves In Southern California, Vincent Quach, Ryan Sauer, Haley Smith, Christian Wright

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Melaleuca quinquenervia is a myrtle (family Myrtaceae) with a propensity for invasiveness. The leaves feature an isobilateral orientation: vertically aligned with a layer of palisade parenchyma on both the adaxial and abaxial sides. Quercus agrifolia (Fagaceae) is a native evergreen with one layer of palisade parenchyma. Due to this structural difference, it was hypothesized that Melaleuca would have a higher rate of photosynthesis (Pn) and less reflectance (NDVI) of green light than Quercus. These two variables were compared using an unpaired t-test, yielding p-values of 0.1366 for NDVI and 0.04428 for photosynthetic rate. No significant difference was found between the …


Measuring Performance Of A Weedy Species (Nicotania Glauca) Vs. A Native Species (Venegasia Carpesioides) On The Pepperdine Campus, Emily J. Blair, Zach G. Coffman, Celina Y. Jones Jan 2014

Measuring Performance Of A Weedy Species (Nicotania Glauca) Vs. A Native Species (Venegasia Carpesioides) On The Pepperdine Campus, Emily J. Blair, Zach G. Coffman, Celina Y. Jones

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This study investigated four different mechanisms of growth performance of a native chaparral species, Venegasia carpesioides, and a weedy species, Nicotiana glauca. The research group hypothesized that one or more of the following variables would be higher for the weedy species than the native species: photosynthetic rate, conductance, fluorescence, and electron transport rate (ETR). This hypothesis was formulated in order to provide a plausible explanation for why weedy species often outcompete native species when grown in proximity to each other, especially in a chaparral environment experiencing drought conditions. This hypothesis was tested by obtaining two groups of each species and …